Year: 2019

If there’s only a handful of redeemable qualities about 2019, surely one of them is this: it’s the year Missy Elliott is getting her flowers.

Earlier in 2019, the hip-hop innovator and vanguard became the first female hip-hop artist inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Now, Elliott’s officially a doctor, walking across the stage at Berklee College of Music on Saturday to receive her honorary degree.

Elliott was bursting with joy at the honor, documenting her latest achievement on her Instagram account.

“CREATE YOUR OWN LANE!!!!” wrote the trailblazing rapper/producer/bad bitch, signing it off,“Dr. Missy Elliot.”

“This year’s honorary doctorate recipients are being recognized for their achievements and influences in music, and for their enduring global impact,” Berklee said in a March statement.

Elliott also delivered a speech at the weekend commencement ceremony emphasizing resilience—not surprising for a musician whose career has spanned three decades. 

As she went up to receive her degree, Elliott got visibly emotional.

“Let me just soak it in,” she said once she approached the podium, fanning tears from her eyes.

During her short speech, Elliott told Berklee graduates to prepare for ups and downs, recounting her own personal challenges in the music industry: her excitement when she was first featured on a track, only to be caught off-guard by the accompanying video. There was her voice on the TV—except it was coming out of a slimmer, conventionally prettier woman.

“That was the first time I realized that maybe I wasn’t the look of beauty that people thought beauty was then. And that discouraged me,” she said. “But I kept going.”

Elliott talked about being dropped from a girl group, and the time she was nominated for 12 awards. She had her speech written out and even practiced in the mirror the night before the ceremony, she said, only to come away from the awards show empty-handed.

“As long as you are breathing, it is never too late. Because people will tell you you’re too old, people will tell you it’ll never work.” she said. “You have come too far to quit.”

Full speech here.

Original articlewas published here.

Former NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal knows first hand how hard it was finding shoes to fit his large feet as a teen. When he heard the story of eighth-grade student Zach Keith, 13, and his struggle to afford shoes for his size 18 feet, O’Neal immediately decided to help by gifting the teen 10 pairs of shoes.

During an interview with CNN affiliate WGCL O’Neal said, “The mom couldn’t afford to buy the kid shoes. The kid has big feet. I just kind of reminisced back to how that used to be me, my mom and my dad.”

According to the news network, the Hall of Famer, who wore a size 18 when he headed to prom, was gifted a pair of free penny loafers by Atlanta’s Friedman’s Shoes owner, Bruce Teilhaber. 

Touched by Teilhaber’s act of kindness, O’Neal, who now wears a size 22, has remained a loyal shopper at Friedman’s Shoes and paid the good deed forward. “Bruce did it for me, and I just want to return the favor,” he said. 

Floored by Shaq’s kindness, the teen, who plays basketball, said, “Like, whoa. He wants to buy me shoes, out of all people?”

His mother, Brittany Keith, shared just how much O’Neal’s good deed eased some of her stress. “This will help a lot,” she explained. “I won’t so much have to worry about buying him dress shoes. He hasn’t had a pair of dress shoes in about four or five years because its been hard trying to find the ones that actually fit.” 

Grateful for the act of kindness, she continued, “And for me it was just, it was very touching, very heartfelt and to know that there’s somebody out there that has his back.”

Original article was published here.

Michelle Obama, former first lady and forever mom-in-chief, has long been a source of inspiration, encouragement and kindly worded tough love. She’s basically the mother figure we’ve needed.

For Mother’s Day, we gathered 10 pearls of wisdom Obama has doled out over the years, from dealing with bullies, to dealing with partners, to dealing with work. Like any good mother, she’s teaching us how to be better human beings and how to live happier, healthier lives. 

On Education

“Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower yourselves with a good education … then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise.” Final speech as first lady, 2017

On Bullies

“When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.” Democratic National Convention, 2016

On Choosing The Right Partner

“Reach for partners that make you better. Do not bring people into your life who weigh you down. Good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt.” Address to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson students, 2011

On Choosing The Right Friends

“You have to fill your bucket with positive energy — and if you have people hanging around you that are bringing you down and not lifting you up, whether that’s your ‘boo’ or your best friend — you have to learn how to push these people to the side.” The Power of an Education Girl panel, 2015

On Success

“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” Democratic National Convention, 2012

On Failure

“Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. Don’t be afraid to fail.” The Power of an Educated Girl panel, 2015

On Self-Care

“We need to do a better job putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” Let Girls Learn event, 2016

On Believing In Yourself

“You don’t have to be somebody different to be important. You are important in your own right.” Let Girls Learn trip, 2016

On Dreaming Big

“The only limit to the height of your achievement is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.” Democratic National Convention keynote address, 2008

On Making Good Decisions

“Don’t ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn’t.” excerpt from “Becoming”

Original article was published here.

We’ve shown love to young black girls and black men, but now we want to speak to the parents that helped us become exactly who we are. Thank you for showing me what it means to persevere, be courageous and advocate for your children in a world that doesn’t expect you to do any of that.

1.Thank you for showing me what it means to persevere, be courageous and advocate for your children in a world that doesn’t expect you to do any of that

2. Putting yourself first is not selfish. Being mentally, physically, and spiritually balanced can influence the balance of our family.

3. Take some time for yourself. Relax.

4. You remind me every day what hard work and dedication truly mean. I appreciate you.

5. I think you’re beautiful. Exactly how you are – love marks, curves and all! #Blackgirlmagic

6. It’s okay to be lonely, but know that you are not alone.

7. You’re powerful. The risk you took bringing and protecting a black life in this world speaks to that.

8. Material things don’t matter. Your love and support is what we crave the most.

9. You are the reason I will never ever quit.

10. We miss you! Even though we don’t call enough, know that we are thinking of you daily.

11. You have the power to break any family habits and cycles. What your mother, sister and grandmother did is NOT a reflection of how you have to live your life.

12. You are enough. I know raising a black family is not easy, and you did an amazing job!

13. Don’t stop dreaming just because you’re getting older. Black will never crack and your dreams are there for a reason. Go get ’em, just like you taught us too.

14. Thank you. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made.

Original article was published here.

No nonsense black mamas have a language of their own, and anybody who was raised by one will recognize it instantly. While I resent the idea that all black women are snappy and quick to anger, I do admit that we usually don’t take kindly to disrespect. It starts at home with our mothers and from the time we are young, they have a series of sayings we hear well into our adult years. I’m sure if you’re a mother now, you may find yourself saying the same things your mother said to you.

Here are 21 black mama sayings that I’m sure we’ve all heard at some point.

1. “I’m not one of your little friends.”

2. “Do I look like booboo the fool?”

3. “A hard head makes a soft behind.”

4. “First of all, check your tone.”

5. “Stop all that crying before I give you something to cry about.”

6. “You got McDonald’s money?”

7. “Don’t you get in trouble following behind them white kids.”

8. “I hope you know that school work like you know them songs.”

9. “You smellin’ yourself.”

10. “When we get in this store, don’t touch nothin’.”

11. “Fix your face.”

12. “I don’t care what _______’s mama does. I’m not _______’s mama”

13. “Keep playing and see what happens.”

14. “Is that your lil’ friend?”

15. “Didn’t I tell you…”

16. “Don’t let your mouth write a check your ass can’t cash.”

17. “Stop running in and out of my house.”

18. “You smell like outside.”

19. “I brought you in this world, and I can take you out.”

20. “Go sit down somewhere.”

21. “If someone hits you first, you hit them back.”

Original article was published here.

A group of Black doctors are teaming up to open the first Black-owned Urgent Care Center in Chicago’s Hyde Park. 

Premier Health Urgent Care, will be the Southside’s first Urgent Care facility and hopes to provide affordable healthcare to a population in desperate need of it.

“We are happy to open an urgent care in Hyde Park because the community needs it. I see so many urban professionals who either delay or go without care because of time constraints,” said Dr. Reuben C. Rutland.

“No one has 8 hours to wait in the emergency department for a minor illness or the flexibility to wait 3 weeks because their primary care doctor is booked solid. We are here to help fill that gap.”

The Urgent Care’s founders include Dr. Airron Richardson, Dr. Michael A. McGee, and United States Navy veteran Dr. Reuben C. Rutland. They opened the facility in a partnership with former Chicago Bears wide receiver Dr. Gregory Primus. 

After his football career ended, Primus became the first Black person trained in orthopedic surgery at the University of Chicago.

Rutland made it clear that the Urgent Care was not trying to replace any other form of healthcare but sought to fill the gap in the middle.  

“We are not in competition with the doctors offices or the emergency department,” Dr. Rutland said.

“We are a supplement to them both, to help relieve the stress on those two facilities.”

Urgent care centers have become wildly popular in cities across the country for providing quick, same-day treatment without the lengthy waits.

“Once a patient is seen, they are typically treated in less than an hour, making Premier’s walk-in clinic an ideal provider of the immediate care when it’s needed the most,” the founders said in a press release.

“Premier accepts many major types of insurance and offers services at a fraction of the cost of hospital-affiliated urgent care or emergency rooms.”

In a press release, the center’s founders said they will be able to treat a variety of illnesses and ailments. They also plan to donate a cut of the profits to the Project Outreach and Prevention (POP) organization, which they said, “aims to prevent youth violence in surrounding neighborhoods by providing resources, services and education to assist teens in making better life-long choices.”

Dr. McGee told Chicago’s Fox 32 that it was difficult and distressing to deal with injuries from shootings, which are common in some parts of the Southside. 

“When you have a kid come in who is 11 or 10 and they’ve been shot, and you can’t do anything about it, and you have to tell their parents and look them in the eye and say hey, I’m sorry, your child is dead. Their parents grab me and tell me to bring them back,” he said in an interview with the news station.

Over the last year, dozens of black-owned businesses have sprung up across the Southside, including Peach’s Currency Exchange Cafe, Justice of the Pies and Brown Sugar Bakery. 

Original article was published here.

In 1956, Autherine Lucy Foster broke racial boundaries when she enrolled at the all-white University of Alabama. Her enrollment was preceded by a lengthy court battle. She first applied to the university in 1952 but her acceptance was rescinded because of the color of her skin.

After finally being able to attend, like many trail blazers of her time, her courage was met with intolerance and outrage. So in its efforts to restore order, the school expelled Foster just three days after she enrolled due to persistent protests and death threats. 

But on Friday, 63 years after she was removed from campus, Foster received a warm welcome and a standing ovation upon her return to receive an honorary degree during graduation ceremonies. 

“I wasn’t crying, but tears was just rolling down my eyes because it’s just so different and so unique for me to be able to come back to such a university as this,” Foster told WBRC.

“A legendary moment,” the school tweeted on Friday. “Thank you to civil rights pioneer + #UA legend Autherine Lucy Foster for her tenacious spirit in the face of adversity.”

After Foster was ousted in 1956, black students weren’t welcome on campus until 1963—five months after Gov. George Wallace infamously pledged“segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever” in one of the most divisive outbursts in the history of the United States. 

But thankfully, that shroud of overt hatred on campus is no more. 

“The difference is the crowds are here,” Foster said. “I see laughing faces instead of people frowning and displeased with me being here.”

She added, “I feel elated. Somewhat embarrassed because I don’t feel exactly worthy of what I’m getting. But I’m going to thank them and act as if I can.”

Foster earned a Master’s degree in Education from the university in 1991.

Original article was published here.

Queen Latifah is no stranger to experiencing discrimination in Hollywood. She’s also no stranger to breaking barriers.

The renaissance woman recently launched The Queen Collective, a program that provides women behind the camera with funding, resources, mentoring and a platform to debut their work. In its inaugural year, the collective selected two black women, B. Monet and Haley Elizabeth Anderson, to debut their documentaries, “Ballet After Dark” and “If There Is Light” at Tribeca Film Festival and stream them on Hulu.

Leading up to the premiere, the queen spoke with a roundtable of journalists on the importance of supporting these filmmakers along the way.

“Here we are with two wonderful up-and-coming directors who deserve to have their stories told in the way they want to tell them with the support of Tribeca Film Festival and all this amazing experience and talent,” she said. “From having your idea selected to you now being at the helm, to having the finances to be able to create that project. To having people to mentor you through the entire process, to having a line of distribution to have your project seen by people, by the public which is where you want it to be. To get that story to the people and to have support along the way to let people know about it every step of the way.”

For B. Monet and Anderson, this is the first time they’d ever gotten the privilege of “yes” in this industry, they told HuffPost. Though Hollywood has more women behind the camera than ever before getting their films produced and making history, there are still major disparities that exist when trying to get access and resources to thrive in the film industry, especially for women of color.

“To be given money, not even just $5,000, but adequate resources to make a short film is mind-blowing,” B. Monet said. “I think what also is so great is that we have mentorship and support. Because I’ve not always had that, and so it’s just really beautiful to have different mentors. Whether they be editors or fellow directors, or just other people who can go and dig deep into the story with you and say ‘Hey, do you want to put this part in your film?’ or ‘Do you want to expound upon this?’”

The queen also reminisced about her first big break as a producer, which, surprisingly, wasn’t too long ago with “Bessie.” The rapper, actress, and beauty icon said that she went from being in the film to not having control at all until she got to the point where she could take over the project as producer, with Dee Rees coming on as a director for her sophomore effort, almost 22 years after the movie’s inception.

“[Pariah] was her first film and when we started shooting Bessie, she went from basically no money to $18-million dollar budget,” Queen Latifah told HuffPost of the HBO production. “She was so used to not having money that we had to tell her, you have money. This is what money feels like. You can go for some angles. You can go close-ups. We can go right. We can get artistic shit you want to do… Then you see what it can become. It can become a beautiful work of art.”

Queen also had some wise words specifically for black creatives to protect their work and lessons she’s learned since the 1990s show “Friends” co-opted many of the themes in “Living Single,” the black sitcom which premiered a year prior.

“We invented jazz. We invented rock and roll. We invented hip hop. We invented house music, which is now dance music, and further on and further on. We are the core and the essence of all of these things and we can continue to do that,” she said. She stressed the importance of knowing black history and collaborating with likeminded people to continue to make history.

“Ownership has been important to me and my partner,” she told HuffPost. “We want to own what we create. You have to be willing to sacrifice with certain things and not take all the upfront money. You get to own it in perpetuity and make money on it forever if you own it. If you sell it, then you don’t own it. Get as much money as you can if you’re going to sell it, but just know that somebody else is probably going to make the bulk of the money.”

Original post was published here.

Tyra Banks is back like she never left.

The first black woman to ever land a solo cover of Sports Illustrated’s iconic swimsuit issue came out of modeling retirement to unveil her 2019 cover on Wednesday. The High Priestess of Smizing, the Pope of “Kiss my ‘fat’ ass,” and One of the O.G. Capital S Supermodels, Banks posed in an itsy-bitsy yellow string bikini by Andi Bagus—a re-creation, she says, of her 1997 S.I. look.

“We couldn’t find the exact one in the archives—it was the polka dot bikini so we recreated that bikini,” the model and media mogul said on Good Morning America. “I recreated [the shoot]—25 pounds heavier.”

No one seems more thrilled about the shoot, photographed in Great Exuma, Bahamas, by Laretta Houston, than Banks herself, who noted it had been 23 years since her first solo SI cover.

“How crazy is that?” Banks gushed. “I’m like damn—I’m 45 dog!”

And finer than ever, it must be said.

In a recent Sports Illustrated Instagram video, Banks said she never dreamed about landing her first swimsuit issue cover “ because I never thought it was possible.”

“Almost like this—never thought it would be possible,” added the three-time SI covergirl. “I’m 45 years old, on the cover of this magazine again?”

If there’s one person who didn’t sound so shocked about the latest issue, that would be SI Swimsuit Editor MJ Day, who said Banks is “nothing less than a mogul, a cultural force and a supernova of inspiration and empowerment.” 

“She’s kind of the Swimsuit Issue ethos come to life, everything we know this franchise can be,” she added.

Swimsuit ethos, and make it Tyra.

Original post was published here.

The stories of Nipsey Hussle’s entrepreneurship and community activism were legion following his being gunned down in front of the store he owned in South Los Angeles.

But in the weeks since his death, new reports are coming out showing how extensive Hussle’s plans were, not only for his native South Los Angeles, but disenfranchised black and brown communities around the country.

“He wanted to be a symbol and really spark a movement,” Hussle’s business partner, real estate developer David Gross, told the Los Angeles Times. “Basically, it was the economic version of Black Lives Matter. [That] is what we were trying to create.”

Part of that movement was conquering the ills of gentrification that so often mean communities of color are further disadvantaged, even to the point of being pushed out of their neighborhoods completely.

As the Times explains:

At the time of his death, Hussle was reaching out to a diverse array of partners — from fellow musicians and L.A. politicians to a Republican senator from South Carolina [Tim Scott] — to make the revitalization of [South L.A. neighborhood] Hyde Park something larger and potentially longer-lasting.

Hussle was part of an investment group that was planning to use a tax incentive carved out in a recent federal law to revive not only his neighborhood, but other forgotten, low-income communities in 11 cities, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

But to the end, Hussle always thought of the community first, and he came up with a way to allow members of the community to own a piece of every new project in their city.

So, instead of just investing in new residences and businesses that would be out of reach for the existing community, Hussle planned to give the community the opportunity to own a piece of every project — through crowdfunding.

“ … it was the economic version of Black Lives Matter.

[That] is what we were trying to create.”

Shortly before his death, he was set to meet with Sen. Scott, the Republican from South Carolina, to discuss an investment fund he and his business partners had created called the “Our Opportunity” fund.

As Gross, who also grew up in South L.A. told the Times, its mission was to work with the hometown heroes “of every large, majority black city to, in a systematic way, acquire and develop transformative projects.” 

From all reports, Hussle was a real visionary, with powerful plans to uplift our communities across the nation. It is indeed a tragedy that he is gone way too soon, but hopefully his story—his ideas—will inspire others to continue along the path he was only beginning to carve out.

Original post was published here.